Spring skate



Aug. 31 1926.

E. A. HOFF El' AL SPRING SKATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 31, 1926. l,597,792

' E. A. HOFF ET AL SPRING SKATE Filed Feb. l6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwwmom MaaWoM/,Eggj

Patented Aug. 31, 1926.

UNITED STATES A 1,597,792 .Param orales.

EDWARD A. HOFF AND WILLIAM C. SANFORD, OF LA OROYA, PERU.

SPRING SKATE.

Application filed February 6, 1925.

This invention relates to sporty and athletic devices, and is comparable in some respects to skates, except that, instead of the gliding strokes of ice skates and roller skates, the user of the present device proceeds with long easy and graceful leaps, and the devices are equipped with shock absorbing means to cushion the jars incident to landing first on one foot and then on the other, wherefore we have termed the invention a spring skate.

The present device includes a runner for engagement with the ground, ice, snow, a iioor or other surface, means for attaching the runner to the shoe of the user, and cushioning or shock-absorbing means interposed between the ruimer and the attaching means for the purpose of absorbing the shocks of Contact of the runner with the ground when the user is proceeding with leaps and bounds, and for imparting an up and down undulatory motion when gliding on ice and snow. Y

"With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combina tion and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it of course being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size and minor de tails may be made, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a spring skate embodying the features of t-he present invention, the depressed position of the foot piece and the shock absorbing means being illustrated in dotted lines,

Figure 2 is a plan section on the line 2 2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detail cross section of the runner and the shoe thereon, v

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the connecting links, Y

Figure 6 is an inverted plan view of the foot plate. I

The present device is made up generally of a runner 1, afoot or shoe plate 2 for'attaching the device to the foot of the user, and a shock absorbing device interposed between the runner and the foot plate and made up of a coiled spring 3 and front and rear tog- Seral No. 7,274.

gle levers 4 and 5 connected to the respective ends of the spring 3 and the runner 1. The foot plate 2 is provided with 'a heel strap 6 and a toe strap 7 of any common or preferred form for securing the plate 2 to the shoe of the user.

The ruimer 1 is a broad flat steel bar, shown in cross section in Figure 4 of the drawings, with its ends bowed upwardly as at 8 and 9 so as to overhang the runner, each bowed end terminating in a reduced eye 10.

The toggle lever connections between the ends of the runner and the ends of the spring 3 are duplicate in construction, mounting and operation, and therefore a description of one of them will be sufficient. Each lever includes a pair of 'arms 11 and 12 which are connected adjacent their rear ends by a cross bar 13, the extremities of the arms having aligned openings so as to provide eyes 14 in which are received the pivots 15 extending at right angles to the crank arms 1G on the link bar 17 which is pivotally mounted within the eye 10 on the adjacent end of the runner 9. The other ends of the arms 11 and 12 are connected by a cross bar 18, from the middle of which extends an arm 19 having a terminal eye 20 in which is engaged the terminal hook 21 of the coil spring 3. The arm 19 is set at substantially right angles to the main portion of the toggle lever made up of the arms 11 and 12, 'and at the apex of the angle, the arms 11 and 12 are received between perforated lugs or bearing eyes 22- depending from the bottom of the foot plate 2. Suitable pivot pins 23 connect the arms 11 and 12 with the respective pairs of bearings 22.

ln the normal condition of the spring skate, as shown in full lines in Figure 1 of the drawings, the toggle levers are inclined upwardly and inwardly from the ends of the runner and lare yieldably held in this position by the spring 3, which spring is strong enough to maintain the toggle levers in substantially their normal positions when the weight of the user is placed upon the foot plate `2. In using a pair of spring skates, each skate is secured to a foot of the user in the manner of ordinary ice skates or roller skates, and thereafter the user proceeds to stride, leap or jump, the impacts of the runner with the ground or other surface being taken up by the shock-absorbing device made up of the spring 3 and the front 'ront'and' rear toggle levers Vfulcrumed at their outerends upon'the runner and proand rear toggle levers 4 and 5, said members being depressed more or less in accordance with the :torce of the impacts and sometimes even to the position indicated in dottedI lines. As soon as the force of the impact is expended, the spring 3, which has been exteiided'or expanded during its downward movement of course contracts and draws the levers back to their normal positions. In this connection it will be explained that each toggle lever is lulcrunied upon one of the overhanging ends of a runner 9, and the relation between the fulcrum of the lever and its pivotal connection with the adjacent end of the spring 3 is such that any downward movement of the two levers also moves the eyes 20 in opposite directions thereby extending the spring 3 which operates as a shock absorbing device to cushion the jars incident to impacts of the runner with the ground oi: other surface.

IV ith the runner l in a bare condition the user of the skates can coast on ice 'and snow and oi' course may be pushed or pulled along over ice and snow.

there the skates are used upon the ground, a `roadway or other surface, there is employed ashoe 24 which is segmental in cross section, as best shown in Figure l of the drawings, and made of some strong yieldable material, as for instance rubber. '.l`l1e shoe is preferably segmental in cross section having its rounded or convexv lower surface disposed toi' contact. with the gi'ound and its upper flat `surface lying against the bottom of the runner. Suitable flexible flanges 2:5 are provided upon the opposite upper longitudinal edges of the shoe so as to told over and over-hang the top of the runner. These laiigcs are provided with a series ol eyelets 2G to receive suitable lacing 27 whereby the shoe may be detachably connected to the runner. The purpose of the shoe is to allord better bearing surface than the flat metallic runner and to prevent the sharp clicking noises which would be occasioned by the` contact of the metal runner with any hard surface on which the skates might be used.

that is claimedis LA spring skate comprising a ruimer, a foot plate having attaching means, front and rear toggle levers' fulcrumed upon the runner and carrying the toot plate, anda cciledspriiig in substantial parallelism with the runner` andV having its opposite ends conynectcd to the respective innerV ends of the `leversand yieldably maintaining said inner 'ends in an elevated position. C .2. A .spring skate comprising a runner,

vided at their inner ends with downwardly inclined arms, a coiled spring in substantial parallelism with tlie runner and having its opposite ends connected to theV arms of the respective levers, a foot plate carried by the levers, and attaching means carried by the foot plate.

3. A spring skate comprising a runner having upturned ends, substantially U- shaped links pivotally carried by the uptuined runner ends, iront and rear levers having spaced bearing members pivotally connected with the respective links, a coiled spring lying between the levers and having its ends connected to the respect-ive levers, a foot plate carried by the levers and lying above the spring, and attaching means carried by the foot plate.

4. A spring skate comprising a runner having iipturned ends, substantially U- shaped links pivot-ally carried by the runner ends, front and rear levers, each levei having a pair 'of spaced bearing members pivotally connected with the adjacent link and also provided with a pair of' spaced side members connected by a cross bar and havingV a downwardly inclined arm leading from the cross bar, a coiled spring between the levers and connected to the respective arms and disposedin substantial parallelism with the runner, a foot plate carried by the levers and located above the spring, and attaching means carried by the foot plate.

5. A spring skate comprising a runner,

means for attaching the runner to a ioot of the user, shock absorbing means between the runner and the attaching means, a shoe, encasing the runner, said shoe extending throughout substantially the length o't the runner and having a substantial body portion underlying the ruimer and which is segmental in cross section with its convex face at the bottom of the shoe, and means for detachably securing the shoe to the runner.

`6. A spring means for attaching the runner to a foot of the user, shock absorbing means between the y runner and the attaching means, a shoe encasing the runner, said shoe extending throughout substantially the length of the runner and havingl a substantial body por tion underlying the ruimer and which is segmental in cross section with its convex face at they bottom ofthe shoe, the upper longitudinal edges of the shoe having lex ible flanges overhanging the runner and provided with eyelets, and a lacing threaded skate comprising a runner,

throughthe. eyelets for detachably connect- ,ing the shoe to the runner.

EDWARD A. HOFF. ,WILLIAM C. SANFORD. 

